In Betweens: Book 5 What Ifs
by kairikeyblade.kingdomhearts2
Summary: What if Harry was forced to run away in the beginning of book five? What would Ron, Hermione and Sirius say? Set between Vernon's rant and arrival at Grimmauld Place. Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger. R &R please! First Fanfic )
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling! However awesome she may be, these characters are hers.

Note: In this story, small spells (i.e. Incendio, Lumos, Engorgio, etc) don't attract Ministry attention.

Harry stared, for the smallest of a second, at his uncle, who face veins were bulging out of his forehead in anger. He, and his warthog of a cousin Dudley, had just been attacked by a pair of dementors, only to come home to find himself being nearly attacked by his disgruntled uncle. Harry was utterly confused. In one hand, he held the letters from Sirius and Mr. Weasley telling him not to leave the house. In the other, he held the expulsion letter from Hogwarts. Dumbledore would sort it out all out, would he now? Suddenly Harry wasn't so sure. He resisted the urge to run from the house, and instead rushed upstairs, where he locked his door.

He walked up to his bedside table and picked up the picture of his parents. They looked so happy in that picture, waltzing around the fountain and smiling for Sirius, who snapped the photo, so long ago. So much had changed. Just a couple months later, his parents were killed in Godric's Hollow, and Sirius had been sent to Azkaban, the wizard prison. He, Harry, had been sent to live in this house, dragged up by his mother's sister, and her insufferable family. For the first 10 years of his life, Harry endured the cruelest of upbringings, but then, his eleventh birthday arrived, and his whole life changed. He now had friends, a family, and a surrogate father, also known as Sirius Black. However, as Harry pondered this, he found that he was more angry with his friends and family than he felt comfortable with. At the end of his last term, Ron had promised him that he wouldn't be at the Dursley's for long. He was dead wrong. It had now been a month and some days and Harry was still stuck with his aunt's family.

As he thought about this, he began throwing his personal belongings (which weren't much) into his school trunk. By the time he was finished, his room looked completely bare, save the furniture. He was going to run for it, despite what he was told to do. He was done waiting for a rescue that was biding its time. He would bide his time until morning, when his uncle would go to work, his aunt would be busy cleaning her already spotless kitchen, and his cousin would be busy bully the neighborhood children. No one would notice. They never did. He absentmindedly dropped the letters in his hand into the dustbin, muttered "Incendio", and watched the flames devour the paper.

Morning found Harry James Potter putting on his comfiest trousers, sneakers, shirt, and jacket. If he wanted to run, he would need to carry his trunk, broomstick, and Hedwig's cage easily. Secretly thanking Hermione for teaching him the spell, Harry cast a reducing charm on all three items and zipped them tightly into one of his trouser pockets. Taking one fleeting look around the room, Harry opened the door and walked downstairs.

Surprisingly, the Dursleys were not in the living room watching the morning news as they usually did before breakfast. Rather, Aunt Petunia was unusually cheery and Dudley was quietly drinking some tea, an unusual smirk on his face. Perhaps the most strange thing of all, was the odd grin on Uncle Vernon's face. He was fixing Harry a look that said that he was up to something evil. Bewildered, Harry warily ate his breakfast, which consisted of dry bread with water. Then, the doorbell rang, and, doing his duty, Harry rose to get it. Expecting to see one of his cousin's dimwitted gang members, Harry opened his mouth to tell them to go away only to stop midsentence when a man in a dark suit asked for his uncle.

Harry showed the man to his uncle, and pretended to go upstairs, but instead listened in behind the wall of the first landing.

"Yes, well, he does look a bit scraggly, Mr. Dursley, but I expect we will find work for him at the center," the stranger said.

"And my payment?" Mr. Dursley answered.

"Ah, well, you will receive that when we have the boy safe inside our walls. But I suppose this will be all," the stranger said, in a finalistic tone.

And with a snap of his fingers, three men came in, all armed with sticks that looked like they were stolen from police officers.

"He's in his room," said Uncle Vernon, evilly.

Harry stomach turned to lead. Uncle Vernon had not planned on keeping him the house after all. Wherever they were taking him, he had no way of escape. Hedwig had gone out hunting, so he had no way of letting Ron and Hermione know that they would never see him again. Surely, they would shoot Hedwig on sight if appearances could be trusted. These men look like brutes. Harry looked at the sticks. Did they intend to drag him from the house, screaming? His answer came in the form of the men rushing up the stairs to get him. In a panic, he ran to his room and locked his door with a locking charm. It wouldn't hold for long, but it would buy him time to pry open the window. As he ran to the window, he read the name on the van, and his insides melted. The side of the white van read- St. Brutus' Center for Incurable Criminal Boys.

He was dead meat.


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is the revised version! Read and Review please =)**

Harry stared in terror before his adrenaline kicked in. Quickly, he grabbed his bedsheets and started to make a rope. Using the lamp on the bedside table, he broke the window, tied one end of his rope to the bedpost and threw the other end out of the window. However, just as he started to climb, his door flew open and then men that he saw on the landing stood in the doorway, jeering at him. Harry yelled and kicked loudly as they grabbed him and carried him down the stairs. He couldn't reach his pocket, where he had stored his wand while he made the rope ladder. As he reached the first floor, he looked up and saw his uncle smile evilly, while his aunt and cousin looked on. Finally, they dragged Harry through the front door, where he began to scream some more until he felt a hand roughly close on top of his mouth.

The men had slacked for the fewest of seconds, to make sure the neighbors hadn't noticed anything, and Harry saw his chance. Using his now almost free feet, he kicked the men holding his feet, and using that leverage, elbowed the other two that were holding him.

And so, Harry ran as fast as he could, until he reached the edge of the small forest that lined the outside of Privet Drive. When he was far enough away, Harry sank down in a clearing and evaluated his situation. He had no muggle money, no food, and now, no home. He needed to get a message out, but he had no idea where Hedwig was. But who would he message? Ron? Hermione? Sirius?...Dumbledore? Harry straightened up. No, he refused to message an adult. They had all treated him like children, and left him no choice. Had they gotten him from Privet Drive earlier, this would have never happened. Ordering his best friends to not tell him anything or telling him to stay put and be a good boy were orders given to him by adults. No, he, Harry, was going to owl Ron and Hermione, the two people that had been on all of his adventures with him. Yes, he was angry at them for not telling him anything, but right now he had no choice. Straightening up, he pulled out his pocket size trunk and enlarged it back to its normal size. Rummaging through, he found parchment, quill, and ink. Quickly, he penned:

_Ron, Hermione,_

_I asked for answers and I never got them. Now, the Dursleys have tried to have me shipped off…I managed to get away. I dunno how, but I'm going to try and find the Burrow. Don't tell anyone whats going on-it'll only going to complicate things. _

_Harry_

That looked succinct enough. He was still angry with Ron and Hermione, but he had to tell someone what was going on. Suddenly, as if on cue, Hedwig came flying down, and happily perched herself on Harry's shoulder. He rolled up the little piece of parchment and attached it to Hedwig and sent her on her way. As his blood pressure started to slow, he calmed down- and quickly began to feel the pain inflicted upon him. He had bruises on his legs and arms, and, although, he hadn't noticed it before, he also had bleeding cuts on his hands, from where he had tried to grab every piece of furniture, including the ends of side tables, doors, and even the wooden landing, as he was forcefully dragged from his house, if he could even call it that. A thought suddenly occurred to him. He had hoped that this blood had not rub off on Hedwig because he knew his friends would then be compelled to tell anyone they came in contact with. It was childish, yes, but Harry was so annoyed that he didn't even care. He crawled over to his trunk and pulled out his photo album. He turned to the page with his parents smiling happily up at him, and succumbed to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's Chapter Three! Thanks for the reviews! They're helpful =) I'll try and go back and edit Chapter 2 later so that it makes sense, I know I made some stupid mistakes grammatically. Anywho, enjoy =)!**

Ron paced back and forth in his room at Grimmauld Place, while Hermione stared at him anxiously and bit her nails. The two were worried about their best friend, Harry, who was currently residing with his belligerent aunt and uncle, and judging by the tone of his letters, he was beginning to get antsy.

"I'm afraid he's going to do something rash, Hermione,"

"Well, yes, we both know that Harry can act without thinking sometimes, but how far do you think he will get before whoever is tailing him catches him?"

"Well, Harry hasn't always had the best of luck now has he?"

"Yes, but like Sirius said, these people are Aurors, they know what they're up against. Harry isn't going anywhere, Ron."

"I hope so. I just have a bad feeling about leaving him cooped up with those people for so long. I mean, since when has being surrounded by authority ever stopped us? Let's take a look, shall we? First year, we get past a three headed dog and every other foul that lived on the third floor. Second year, we manage to get past patrolling teachers and prefects into the most dangerous sewer on this planet and we nearly die there. Third year, we turn back time and go gallivanting around at night in the forbidden forest. Last year, someone tries to kill him by means of an insane tournament! What other proof do you need, Hermione?

"Ron, look-"

There was a knock at the door, and Hermione got up to get it. Sirius was standing there with a plate of sandwiches.

"I noticed you two didn't come to dinner."

"No, Ron and I didn't really feel like eating. Actually, Sirius, do you know who is watching over Harry tonight?"

Sirius shifted uneasily. Ron and Hermione didn't look well. In fact, they looked like they had just finished arguing. Ron's face was as read as his hair, and Hermione's cheeks were pink.

"Um, is something bothering you two? And Dung was on Harry duty tonight." Sirius carefully watched their reactions. Ron's face didn't change to much, but Hermione's face fell.

"Well, Ron was a bit worried about Harry because he reckons that leaving Harry at the Dursleys for so long will result in him doing something reckless. I told him that…I told him that Harry would be fine as long as he is being tailed."

Sirius regarded Hermione very closely. She had been looking at him as she started talking, but towards the end, she faltered in a very un-Hermioneish way. His mind went back to the old days, back when the Marauders were at Hogwarts. Ron was akin to, well, himself, and Harry, of course, was the likeness of his father, minus the adolescent, arrogant attitude that James Potter exhibited in his first years at Hogwarts. However, Hermione was very much like Remus, responsible and always looking at the situation from a mature point of view; yet, something was off with the way she had been talking.

"Sirius?"

"Oh, sorry, zoned out a bit. Yes, well, Ron, Hermione is right. It would be very difficult for Harry to do anything with the members of the Order watching him so closely."

Ron finally resigned, sat on the bed, and picked up a sandwich.

"Wew, owkay Siwius. I gwess yow right."

Sirius took in the look of Ron trying to talk with his mouth full and Hermione giving him a look of deep disgust and laughed. He was counting down the days until those two ended up together. He walked to the door and went downstairs.

Ron swallowed, walked to the door, and put his ear to it for two minutes, to make sure Sirius had truly left. Then he rounded on Hermione.

"So, what are you really thinking?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Ronald,"

"Oh, come on. You've been my best friend for almost five years. I know when you're lying. When you were talking to Sirius you looked down at your hands towards the last part and then when you finally looked up, you had that same look on your face that you had in first year, when you told McGonagall that you had gone looking for that mountain troll."

Hermione looked up, slightly bemused. So he did pay attention to her. Good to know.

"Well, I dunno. I felt confident about what I told you, right before Sirius said Mundungus was watching Harry. I don't trust him, Ron. He seems sketchy, and a bit…well, a bit irresponsible if you ask me. Your mum doesn't like him."

Ron laughed. "Is that it? Well, Dung's alright, I guess. Talks to Fred and George a lot, but I'm sure that he is more than capable of-

They were interrupted by hooting. Hedwig had just flown onto the windowsill.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it! Read and Review please =)**

Ron quickly walked to the window and let Hedwig in. She was fluttering around excitedly, and it took a while for Hermione to calm her down and take the piece of parchment from her. As she did, Hermione was horrified to see a small smidgen of blood on Hedwig's wing.

"Ron! Is that blood? Is it Hedwig's? What's going on?!"

"Well, you're holding the letter, Hermione, open it!"

With trembling hands, Hermione unrolled the piece of parchment, and read,

_Ron, Hermione,_

_I asked for answers and I never got them. Now, the Dursleys have tried to have me shipped off…I managed to get away. I dunno how, but I'm going to try and find the Burrow. Don't tell anyone what's going on-it's only going to complicate things. _

_Harry_

Ron stared at Hermione, and then snatched the parchment from her and read it for himself. Hermione's eyes started to water as she looked from the parchment to the blood on Hedwig's wing and made the connection. She sat down on Ron's bed and put her head in her hands.

"Oh, Ron, what are we going to do? Only goodness knows where he is! Harry could be anywhere- on the streets, in London, or maybe...maybe Death Eaters got to him. It's too dangerous for him to be out there on his own. We aren't even at the Burrow! What's going to happen when he shows up there and no one is there. There's blood on Hedwig's wing! That means he is hurt! We need to tell- Ron? What are you doing?"

In her breakdown, Hermione had failed to look up and notice that Ron was no longer staring at Harry's letter. Rather, he had grabbed his bookbag from the bottom of his trunk and had hastily started stuffing it with different traveling items, like clothes and his bathroom kit.

"I'm going to find my best friend."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ronald, we can't leave this place."

Ron gave no answer.

"Ronald, I know it's Harry, but we can't just pack up and leave to go look for him. First of all, we'd never get out. Secondly, it's too dangerous. We have to tell someo-"

"HE'S MY BEST MATE, HERMIONE! FROM THE SECOND HE SAT IN MY COMPARTMENT ON THE HOGWWARTS EXPRESS, WE'VE BEEN BEST FRIENDS. I AM NOT GOING TO JUST LET HIM FEND FOR HIMSELF OUT THERE WHEN WE'VE ALWAYS DONE ANYTHING AS A TRIO! THAT'S WHO WE ARE! WE BREAK THE RULES AND SAVE THE DAY, AND WE ALWAYS, ALWAYS STICK TOGETHER. NO MATTER HOW DANGEROUS IT IS. WHEN GINNY WAS TRAPPED IN THE CHAMBER, HARRY RISKED HIS LIFE TO SAVE HER. WHEN SIRIUS DRAGGED ME INTO THAT STUPID TREE, THE BOTH OF YOU CAME TO GET ME. SO GUESS WHAT, I'M GOING TO FIND HIM, REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS, AND-

"I'm coming with you, then," Hermione said in a very small voice.

"Well, good then, we're leaving when everyone goes to sleep". Ron's face was red. Hermione had never seen him that angry before, but in her heart, she knew he was right. Harry was their best friend-their unspoken leader, and that was never going to change. They had to find him. No matter the cost. So, quietly, Hermione left Ron to pack and wondered to herself how she was going to manage to pack without Ginny noticing. However, Hermione didn't notice the flash of long red hair that disappeared around the corner as she walked back to the room she shared with Ginny.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait! School was killing me slowly. Anyway here's the next chapter! Read and review please! Let me know if you guys have ideas or if you like what's going on so far. Thanks!**

Hermione quietly sneaked out of her room and walked to Ron's room. He was sitting on his bed with his wand out and his book bag on his back.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, I hope Ginny didn't wake up when I left,"

"Nah, she sleeps heavy like a Weasley,"

"Right, so how are we doing this, Ron? How are we going to find him? What's our method of transportation?"

"Well, if he's going to the Burrow, then all we have to do is head him off. You know, fly to the Burrow and then pretend as if we were going to Surrey. We'll run into him eventually, and we can always use Hedwig to ask him where he is. As for transportation, we will be flying and camping. I know you hate to, so you can just, you know, fly with me. You know, er, on the same broom."

Ron reddened up at this part, something that didn't escape Hermione's notice. She didn't like flying, but at least she would be with Ron, and he would be hugging her, sort of. She smiled at this.

"Well, has everyone gone to bed already, did you hear anybody on the stairs?"

"No, I didn't hear anybody. I think Sirius was the last one to go up."

"Right, then, what now, should we sneak downstairs and outside to the shed?"

"Yeah. Just don't wake up Ginny as we walk past you guys' room."

"Oh, honestly Ronald."

"What?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes, opened the door, and descended down the staircase.

"_Lumos,"_

They walked past quite a few tapestries and portraits, and eventually past Mrs. Black's ugly face. Finally, they reached the back door, leading to the small patch of land in the back, and crossed over to the broomshed. They walked in, and Ron browsed around for the right broom. There were a few Cleansweeps in the corner, which he walked past. They needed something a little faster, and more durable. It only took him a manner of minutes to find a suitable Nimbus 2000 that looked fairly new, probably belonging to an order member.

"I found one Hermi-"

"_Ronald!" _Hermione shrieked, as she turned beet red. In his haste to find her, Ron had tripped over a stray Cleansweep, and he had subsequently knocked her over. They were not in a awkward, yet somehow fitting position. Ron hovered over Hermione in a protective manner while she lay on the floor of the shed, his hand bracing himself on the floor to prevent crushing her. She looked up, and noticed that his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, brought out by the red hair that plagued the Weasley family. Ron instantly turned a shade of red that would match his roots, and immediately crawled off of her.

"Er, right, sorry, um, I, uh, found a broom. Right, let's go,"

"Yea,".

They walked outside, and Ron mounted the broom. Hermione then got on behind him, and held on tightly to his waist, and soon, they were enjoying the view of the starry night sky.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry I've taken so long to update! School has been hectic! But here it is! **

The morning dew started to disappear as the sunlight hit 12 Grimmauld Place. The inhabitants were slowly rising, all except for one- Mrs. Molly Weasley, who was currently in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

As Sirius and Remus meandered downstairs, they caught the smell of eggs, toast, and bacon. They sat down at the table, and began to chat.

"You know, this reminds me of Hogwarts, Moony. Waking up for breakfast was the only reason I got up so early anyway."

"Yeah, well, you and James always thought with your stomachs. It's the only reason that morning pranks were scarce."

The two friends chuckled as they reminisced to the old days, when the extent of their worries was detentions. Now, James was dead, Peter was a traitor, Sirius was a fugitive, and Remus was often unemployed and haggard-looking. Sirius sighed as he contemplated this for a while. He had Harry, though- his brilliant godson who had knack for trouble and brave heart. He was so proud of him, and he often wished that James and Lily could have lived to see their son grow up and become that young man that he was shaping up to be.

Slowly, Fred, George, Arthur, Ginny and the rest of the others staying at Grimmauld Place wandered down the stairs, attracted by the smell of breakfast. They all sat down as Molly brought the food out. As they began to eat, Tonks noticed Ginny looking rather nervous and fidgety. She was playing with her food and she looked quite pallid.

"Everything alright, Ginny? Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"What? Oh, yes Tonks, I'm fine. I'm just, ah, thinking about the coming school term. I expect those two are upstairs still sleeping. Hermione was still sleeping when I left my room, and Ron didn't answer when I knocked on his door. I guess he's knocked out like a troll."

"Oh, right."

Ginny, sensing her disbelief, struck up a conversation with Remus about her coming school term, which was her fourth year. She continued to watch her. When breakfast was over, Ginny ran back up the stairs and confined herself to her room, claiming a migraine. Tonks exchanged looks with Remus, and quietly but quickly followed up the stairs.

Ginny locked her door and sank to the floor. She had no idea what to do. Hermione and Ron went to rescue Harry, which was ironic. She knew their secret, but if she told someone, Hermione and Ron might not get far enough before they are caught. She needed to give them a head start, and cover for them. Telling the adults would do nothing. The trio had a connection- something that always allowed them to escape with their life and get the job done. They were best at resolving situations on their own. She knew the adults would never understand that. She cared about Harry, and she knew her brother. They had been best mates ever since the train ride, and were practically inseparable. If anyone could find Harry, it would be Ron and Hermione.

She clutched Harry's letter in her hand. She should go after them, just to make sure they had some sort of back up. Ron and her brothers would kill her, but she didn't care. Resolving on this thought, she got up and grabbed her rucksack.

"And just where do you think you're going, eh Ginny?"

**AN: Sooo, I'll try and update once every week from now on! Read and Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Harry lay on the ground, contemplating what he would do. He needed food and water in order to survive and he had no muggle money. Sure, he could try and find Diagon Alley, but how long would it take him to get there? Would he even survive that long without sustenance? Slowly, he got up and walked around. He was so hungry, but what good would it do if he just curled up and died? Who would stop Voldemort? No, he, Harry would not allow that.

Putting his family album back into his trunk, he shrunk it and put it back in his pocket. He then proceeded to walk until he found the edge of the forest and a small town on the other side. Ravished and unshaven, Harry continued to enter. People were starting to stare at him strangely, and slowly his vision started to blur. He sank down on a nearby wall. He really needed food, but Harry wasn't the type to steal it. So he just sat there and slowly began to lose consciousness.

"Dear, are you alright?"

A lady had stepped out of the wall that he had leaned upon, or at least what he thought was a wall. He looked at the lady and realized it had been a window. How strange. Suddenly, the sidewalk began to tilt up, and the world went black.

Harry awoke to the smell of fresh bread. He was on a small cot in what looked like a backroom for storage. He sat up and stared around. The shelves were lined with books, which painfully reminded him of his best friend, Hermione. There were also various vials that contained various liquids lined on the walls. Was this woman a wizard?

"You've woken up, have you? Would you like some food?"

She was short and plump, similar to Mrs. Weasley, and she had a kind face. She was wearing a rather dirty apron and holding a tray with two short loaves of bread, cheese, and what looked like milk. Harry eyed the tray hungrily.

"Yes, please. Thank you."

She handed him the tray and began to speak.

"Gave me right scare there, you did, Potter. Yes, I know who you are. I thought you were just some poor homeless child, but when I approached you, I saw that." She pointed to his scar. Harry continued to eat, but more warily. The lady eyed him. Slowly, she spoke again.

"My name's Amanda, by the way. Amanda Bones. Do you know Susan, by any chance?"

Harry nodded, mouth too full to speak.

"Yes, well, she's my niece. She told me how you saved all those poor muggleborns when you were twelve. Quite stupid, but brave, I must say."

Harry swallowed and handed her back the plate. "Thank you, Ms. Bones."

"Where are you heading, if you don't mind me asking,"

Harry contemplated for a second. "Diagon Alley."

"Need supplies and school things?"

"Yes, I'm out of a few things and I need money from Gringotts."

"Good, finish that up, and I'll take you there before it gets too dark,"

"Really? Thank you so much, Ms. Bones,"

"It isn't a problem dear. Lily and James were the kindest of souls. Helped me out of a few tight spots once or twice. It would be an insult to their memories not to help their son in a time of need."

Harry smiled and continued his meal. He hadn't really planned on going to Diagon Alley, but he didn't think it was a good idea to tell anyone where he truly planned on going since he still hadn't worked out who was behind the dementor attacks. Nonetheless, it was a convenient stop. He could get food, supplies for school, and maybe even stay at the Leaky Cauldron, until he figured out how to get to the Burrow.

For the time being, all seemed well, but Harry knew that wouldn't last for long.

**AN: Thanks for reading! Read and Review please! Next chapter will be back at 12 Grimmauld Place!**


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